Commemorating the Original Vortex, August 7

Milo McIver State Park will host Exploring Vortex I: Music in the Park, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the original Vortex rock concert held at the park in August 1970. The celebration will be from 3-8 p.m. August 8 in the Vortex Meadows. Rock and roll band Steelhead, of Vancouver, Wash., will perform, and the celebration also will include family friendly activities such as a tie-dye booth, hula hooping, a photography exhibit and historical displays. A vendor will sell barbecue; attendees can also bring their own food and beverages, including alcoholic beverages. Vortex I was the only state-sponsored rock festival in American history and was a novel concept in 1970, when both Woodstock and the Kent State shootings were forefront in Americans’ minds. Governor Tom McCall made history by partnering with antiwar demonstrators to organize a concert at Milo McIver in an attempt to avoid conflict in downtown Portland during a scheduled visit of President Nixon. As a celebration of Vortex history, visitors can share their experiences by bringing any photos of the 1970 event; they will be scanned and returned on the spot and added to the Vortex archive. Volunteers will also record anyone interested in sharing their Vortex stories, to be shared with the Estacada Community Library in effort to paint a full picture of how Vortex affected the local community. This event is open to the public, and donations will be accepted to fund a permanent monument in Vortex Meadow. A $5 Oregon State Park parking permit is required for each vehicle.